Tachistoscope



P. M. DuNsoN TACHISTOSCOPE July .1; 1958 Filed Dec. 27, 1954 INVENTOR Philip M. Dunson AT TO RNE YS.

United States PatentZE 2,840,925 Patented July 1, 1958 tice , TACHISTSCOPE Philip M. Dunson, Columbus, Ohio Application December 27, 1954, Serial No. 477,863

3 Claims. (Cl. 35-35) Thel present invention relates to tachistoscopes or llash reading devices.

Various devices have been developed to. improve a `persons speed in reading and in recognizingobjects. One class of such devices has means for exposing an object,

or printed or Written matter, to view for a very short and perhaps predetermined lengthV of time. The user learns to recognize words and phrases on very brief, virtually instantaneous viewing, and inthismanner increases his speed of reading.

A disadvantage of most tachistoscopes is `their fcomf plexity. These devices aregenerally'rcumbersome and not readily portable. Such devices are useful by groups but are not convenient for individual use.

An object of ythe present invention yis -toprovide a small, -compact tachistoscope-that may be used by an in- 4dividual- 'Another object of the present invention Vis.to kprovide a tachistoscope, flash reading device, or.- Shutter, of simple construction.

These and `other objects lwill be `apparent from :the specification.

According to the present invention,\there -is provided a small, compact devicethat can kbe heldin the hand of the user and used for viewing printed or written matter for brief, substantially.instantaneous-periods of time. `The ldevice of the present invention is simple and inexpensive.

t ln the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a tachistoscope. according'to the present invention with the openings in themov- .ablevand xed members-of the device out of alignment; i

and

Fig. 2 is asimilar view showing the same-device with Vthe openings in alignment. Y.

In a-preferred embodiment of the present-invention, a

tlaavrectangmlarplate-member -tl madeof av rigidplastic 7Vmaterial,plywood, sheet metal, cardb0a1d,or othertsuitable material, has a long, narrow, window orfrectangular opening 12 therein, as shown, preferably midway between the upperigand"lower-:edges iof `-`the `plate 41i). s This' opening runs lengthwise with respect to the rectangular member 1t) and has a widthseveral' times greater 'than its height. A bottom plate` 10Q-identical to-the topi plate 11h-fis? located :.underrtheplate.1li-and has awindow-flf thereincoincidling .withtthe-.window-lZYofthe-topiiplate 10. The-#two iiat plates 10--10 are held in spaced-apart relationship by means of a spacer lo anda-paircofilimit stops 16-16.

,Mountedl between the two fixed-,plates 10--10 rand in movable .relationship thereto @is a .-tfhin, generallyfan- Vshaped plate i8, made `of a rigid plastic, plywood, sheet .adjacent the right hand of-the user.

holdsjthedevice in his right hand-with-the handle` 22 adjacent hisleft hand. A card, paper, orl otherobje'ct hav- -Ving matterjthereonto lbe viewed `throughV- the windows 12-r-12vis :held bythe z'user behind thebottom platedl. The ,card and=thetachistoscope may befheld easily/.by the `members 10--10 form a shutter.

`handle portion 22 of the movable plate i8 extends beyond the edges of the stationary plates itl-itl adjacent the pivot Ztl. Preferably the movable member 18 is symmetrical with respect to an axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of the fixed plates lil-10' and of the openings 12-12 in one position of the movable member 18. The movable member 18 has a roughly rectangular opening 24 as shown, ared to be somewhat wider thanthe openings 12-12' at the end farthest from the pivot 28, but otherwise substantiallyl the same size and shape. as the openings liz-12 and so located as to register therewith in one position ofthe movable member 18, preferably when the axes of the movable member i8 and the ixed members lll-18 coincide.

AMovement of the movable ,member 18 is effected byhand. The tachistos'cope is held in the left hand,twhile the right hand grasps the upper edge of the plates it-1tl and the lower edge of the handle 22 and pushes the handle 22 upward from the position shown in Fig. l to the opposite position in which the movable plate i8 contacts the lower stop 16. In a similar mannerthe movable plate 18 is' pivotally returned tothe position shown in Fig. l. During each movement of the plate `1?, in either direction, it passes through the middle position shown in Fig. 2

in which the opening 24 registers with the openings i12-12', momentarily exposing to view anything located behind the windows 12-12'. As the movable member t, 18 is light and mounted for substantially frictionless movement with respect to the stationary plates 1li-4G', a light touch of the tinger to the handle 22 causes rapid movement of the movable member i8 `from-one limit of its travel to the other. The limits of travel of the movable member 18 are fixed by the spacers 16-l6, which also serve as limit stops. Each of the limit stops iti-6^y may have one edge that coincides with an edge of the movable member 18 in one extreme position thereof, although this is not necessary.

In operation according to the present inventionthe ydevice is heldin thefusers `left hand with the handle-22 A `.left-handed user bandi-of the user thatisffnot :required for operation `of `the 'ifhandle-ZZ. `If desired, the f device .'.may :be ,'heldtightly v.inthe V.region vof the spacergnll; although it isf-su'icient merely to rest thedevice comfortably in the hand. Rapid rotationfof 4the 'movable-member: l'8from=` one limit 'of traveltothe other is effected by thethurnbV and forenger r; :of theusers other hand.

vvIn `all positions ofwthe movablemember-.l8,ffexcept the .position midway between the ,two limit -rstops d6-ein',

the openings 12-12 in theffixed members fiSf-.tlftare j.; covered; eitherppartiallynor:completely by the movable member 118. 1W=henthe l movable rmember d8 :is iin l its central position, the opening Z4 therein registers with the openings 12-l2 permitting the user to View the por tion of the card directly behind the openings or windows 12-12". As the openings l2, l2', and 24 extend only a short distance circumferentially with respect to the pivot 20 while extending a considerable distance radially, the matter on the viewing card is exposed for only a brief interval of time while the movable member 18 is moved from one limit position to the other.

Various modifications of the device according to the present invention may be made without departing from the essentials thereof. For example, the top plate may be omitted so that the device has a single fixed plate 10', with the movable plate 1S on top thereof. This construction makes possible a saving of material compared to the embodiment of the invention described above, although it has the disadvantage that the users left hand may interfere with movement of the movable member 18 if it is permitted to rest on any substantial portion of the device.

It is advantageous to locate the openings 1 2-12 along the longitudinal axis of the device as is shown in the drawings, but with only a small distance between the edge of the opening and the left edge of the device and an appreciable distance between the opening and the right edge of the device. Thus the entire opening is at an appreciable radial distance from the pivot. Since no portions of the openings 12-12 are close to the pivot 20, unduly long exposure of these portions of the openings 12-12 nearest to the pivot 20' is avoided. The flared shape of the opening 24 in the movable member 18 also helps to provide substantially equal exposure time over the length of the openings 12-42. It is understood that the openings 12-12 may be located elsewhere, but they preferably should be horizontal when the device is held in the hands of the user with the handle 22 adjacent his right or left hand. The openings 12-12 can be located along the longitudinal axes of the fixed plates 10-10 midway between the left and right edges thereof. This symmetrical location of openings 12-12' has the advantage that either left-handed or right-handed users may use the same set of cards with the device. The fixed openings or windows 12-12 and the movable opening 24 preferably should be long and narrow as in the drawing, but may have any desired shape. Further alterations and embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A manually operable tachistoscope comprising: a fixed plate having an opening therein; a movable plate connected to said fixed plate at a pivot point adjacent an edge of said fixed plate and so mounted as to permit substantially unopposed manual pivotal movement of said movable plate with respect to said fixed plate; said movable plate having an opening on one side of said pivot point and a lever handle portion on the opposite side of said pivot point; means for limiting the movement of said movable plate between two limit positions; said openings being so located, at a substantial distance from said pivot point, and so shaped, as to provide an opening through said tachistoscope when said movable plate is in a position approximately midway between its limit positions; said movable plate completely covering said opening in said fixed plate when said movable plate is in each limit position; so constructed and arranged that with said movable plate in either limit position said lever handle portion can conveniently be pressed directly by hand to provide rapid movement of said movable plate to the other limit position and, approximately midway in said movement, to expose to momentary view, usable for rapid recognition practice, anything located behind said opening in said fixed plate.

2. A manually operable tachistocope comprising: a xed plate having an opening therein; a movable plate comprising a single member connected to said xed plate at a pivot point adjacent an edge of said fixed plate and so mounted, parallel to said fixed plate, as to permit substantially unopposed manual pivotal movement of said movable plate with respect to said fixed plate; said movable plate having an opening on one side of said pivot point and a lever handle portion protruding beyond the adjacent edge of said fixed plate on the opposite side of said pivot point; means lixedly connected to said fixed plate for limiting the movement of said movable plate between two limit positions; said openings being so located, at a substantial distance from said pivot point, and so shaped, as to provide an opening through said tachistoscope when said movable plate is in a position approximately midway between its limit positions; said movable plate completely covering said opening in said fixed plate when said movable plate is in each limit position; so constructed and arranged that with said movable plate in either limit position said lever handle portion can conveniently be pressed directly by hand to provide rapid movement of said movable plate to the other limit position and, approximately midway in said movement, to expose to momentary view, usable for rapid recognition practice, anything located behind said opening in said fixed plate.

3. A manually operable tachistoscope comprising: a pair of fixed plates fixedly secured in parallel, registering, closely spaced relationship to each other; each said plate having an opening therein substantially in registry with the opening in the other said plate; a movable plate connected to said pair of fixed plates at a pivot point adjacent an edge of said pair of fixed plates and so mounted therebetween as to permit substantially unopposed manual pivotal movement of said movable plate with respect to said pair of fixed plates; said movable plate having an opening on one side of said pivot point and a lever handle portion protruding beyond the adjacent edge of said pair of xed plates on the opposite side of said pivot point; means between said fixed plates for limiting the movement of said movable plate between two limit positions; said openings being so located, at a substantial distance from said pivot point, and so shaped, as to provide an opening through said tachistoscope when said movable plate is in a position approximately midway between its limit positions; said movable plate completely covering said openings in said pair of fixed plates when said movable plate is in each limit position; so constructed and arranged that with said movable plate in either limit position said lever handle portion can conveniently be pressed directly by hand to provide rapid movement of said movable plate to the other limit position and, approximately midway in said movement, to expose to momentary view, usable for rapid recognition practice, anything located behind said openings in said pair of fixed plates.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 581,297 Mills Apr. 27, 1897 1,508,169 Doane Sept. 29, 1924 2,647,329 Block Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 173,707 Germany July 27, 1906 191,185 Great Britain Ian. 11. 1923 

